Guide library15 guides
Research Methods
How to plan a research paper, review the literature, take notes, evaluate sources, avoid plagiarism, and build a bibliography.
Every guide is free, written for students and researchers, and dated so you can see when it was last checked.
How to Write a Research Paper
Write a research paper as a process: read the assignment, turn a topic into a question, research with a purpose, organize around claims, then revise. Official steps from UNC, Harvard, UW–Madison, Toronto, and Purdue Global, with their real examples instead of invented theses.
How to Write a Literature Review
Write a literature review as synthesis around a question, not a stack of summaries. Official wording from the UNC Writing Center, University of Toronto Writing Advice, the Cochrane Handbook 6.5, Grant and Booth's 14-type SALSA typology, and PRISMA 2020, plus a real published synthesis paragraph.
How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
Write an annotated bibliography in APA 7 §9.51, MLA 9 §5.132, and Chicago 18 §13.65. Official handbook wording, Cornell and Toronto samples, and the indent mistakes that lose marks.
How to Evaluate Sources for Academic Research
Run the official CRAAP questions on a source, then leave the page to check who is behind it. Worked evaluations of Pew 2025, BLS July 2026, MedlinePlus, Ioannidis (2005), and Kuhn (1962).
Primary vs Secondary Sources: How to Tell Them Apart
Classify a source as primary, secondary, or tertiary with official Harvard, Library of Congress, Yale, Illinois, and Cornell tests. Worked cases include Du Bois, Watson and Crick, Gardner’s 1862 Antietam photograph, and Ask LOC’s Cassatt pair.
How to Find Scholarly Sources: Catalogs, Databases, and Citation Chaining
Find scholarly sources with an ACRL search workflow: pick a catalog or subject database, use official Boolean, MeSH, and ERIC vocabulary, then citation-chain from a real paper. PubMed, HOLLIS, Cochrane 6.5, and ERIC 2024 examples.
How to Read Academic Papers (Keshav Three-Pass Method)
Read a research article in up to three passes: Keshav's 2016 five Cs and math glance, then figures, then a virtual re-implementation. Official wording from Keshav (2007/2016), Raff on delaying the abstract, ICMJE IMRAD (January 2026), UNC, Harvard Library, and Carey et al. (2020), plus a first pass on Battaglia et al. (2013).
How to Take Research Notes You Can Cite Later
Label every line as a quotation, paraphrase, summary, or your own thought before you close the PDF. Official Harvard, Cornell, Toronto, MLA, and UNC methods, plus the Mueller (2014) and Urry (2021) Psychological Science findings.
How to Organize Research Files, Sources, and a Citation Library
File each source in one citation manager, name leftover files the Princeton way, and build a synthesis matrix before you outline. Official Harvard, Zotero, UNC, NC State, and CISA rules, plus the 2008 evidence-matrix study.
How to Avoid Plagiarism: Official Rules Students Can Follow
Credit every idea, phrase, and image that is not yours or common knowledge. Official APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, Princeton, and WPA definitions, with real handbook examples from McDougall, Agar, and Kernan.
Paraphrasing vs. Quoting: When to Use Each
Choose paraphrase, quotation, or summary with APA 7, MLA 9, and CMOS 18. Official handbook pairs, UW–Madison Chase patchwriting, UNC quote sandwiches, and the locators each style actually requires.
How to Use DOIs in APA, MLA, and Chicago Citations
Write a DOI as https://doi.org/10.… in APA 7, MLA 9, and CMOS 18. Official period rules, the current CMOS Quick Guide Kwon and Snyder samples, APA's 3 March 2026 Niepel and Levenson examples, and when an article ID is not a DOI.
How to Find Archives for Research
Find the right repository with ArchiveGrid, SNAC, and the National Archives Catalog, read a finding aid, register for a reading room, and cite the folder you actually opened.
How Peer Review Works (and How to Check a Journal)
How journal peer review actually runs in 2026: ICMJE's January 2026 definition and new AI section, Nature Portfolio's desk-reject and 16 June 2025 transparent-review rule, PLOS ONE's validity-only criteria, NIH's simplified grant framework, DOAJ's two-reviewer floor, and how to tell a refereed article from a preprint or a pseudo-journal.
How to Write a Bibliography
Build the end list your style actually names: APA 7 References, MLA 9 Works Cited, or Chicago 18 Bibliography. Official handbook wording, hanging indents, alphabetizing, and real CMOS, MLA, and APA examples.